Extend Help to Buy house price limit for Oxon first time buyers

Government’s Help to Buy scheme doesn’t recognise the realities of the housing market in Oxfordshire and should mirror London scheme according to Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran.

An Oxfordshire MP is calling on the Government to change its Help to Buy scheme – which gives assistance to first time buyers – so that it can help more people in the county who are saving for a deposit.

The Help to Buy ISA allows first time buyers to receive a government bonus of up to £3,000 to add to their savings account as they save for a deposit.

But outside London only those buying a property worth £250,000 or less can benefit. In the capital, the threshold for eligibility is £450,000

Layla Moran has raised the issue in Parliament with the Treasury, asking government ministers to increase the threshold for the Help to Buy ISA for first-time buyers in Oxfordshire to the London higher price limit of £450,000.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen MP replied to Ms Moran saying that the house price cap allows the Government to target support at those who need it most, and that “there are no plans to increase the threshold specifically for first time buyers in Oxfordshire.”

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran commented:

“Seeing as the Government are happy to use taxpayers’ money to help first time buyers in London get on the property ladder if they’re buying above the £250,000 threshold I don’t see why people in Oxfordshire shouldn’t be allowed to benefit too.

“Given that house prices here are just as expensive as the capital, the least the Government can do is give people in Oxfordshire a fair crack of the whip with a higher threshold just like they do for buyers in London.

“However, I am clear that Help to Buy is only a small part of the solution to the housing crisis. That’s why I am continuing to campaign for a radical investment in genuinely affordable housing, for a significant increase in new council houses and homes for social rent, and for long-term tenancies and decent rights for renters.”

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